U.S. patent number 10,035,600 [Application Number 14/938,532] was granted by the patent office on 2018-07-31 for seat rail for supporting seats in an aircraft and a method of manufacturing a seat rail.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Airbus Operations GmbH. The grantee listed for this patent is Airbus Operations GmbH. Invention is credited to Alexander Gillessen, Alexei Vichniakov.
United States Patent |
10,035,600 |
Vichniakov , et al. |
July 31, 2018 |
Seat rail for supporting seats in an aircraft and a method of
manufacturing a seat rail
Abstract
A seat rail for supporting seats in an aircraft comprises a
support portion for connection with the cabin floor and a seat
receiving portion having a groove for receiving the end portions of
connector elements coupled with the support frame of a seat. The
support portion comprises a profile arrangement of a
fiber-reinforced polymer, preferably carbon fiber-reinforced
polymer, having a central main portion and flanges which extend
outwardly from and perpendicular with respect so the main portion
to form a support surface for the seat rail. The main portion
comprises a slot open at least at its end remote from the flanges.
At least one metal element comprising the groove for receiving the
end portions of the connector elements has a leg which is inserted
into the slot of the main portion and is secured therein. The seat
rail may be manufactured in a continuous process.
Inventors: |
Vichniakov; Alexei (Hamburg,
DE), Gillessen; Alexander (Hamburg, DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Airbus Operations GmbH |
Hamburg |
N/A |
DE |
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Assignee: |
Airbus Operations GmbH
(Hamburg, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
51868142 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/938,532 |
Filed: |
November 11, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160130004 A1 |
May 12, 2016 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Nov 11, 2014 [EP] |
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14192660 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B64D
11/0696 (20130101); B64C 1/20 (20130101); Y02T
50/40 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
97/00 (20060101); B64C 1/20 (20060101); B64D
11/06 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;248/503.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2 119 544 |
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Nov 2009 |
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EP |
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2 864 940 |
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Jul 2005 |
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FR |
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2864940 |
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Jul 2005 |
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FR |
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WO 02/16197 |
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Feb 2002 |
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WO |
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Other References
European Search Report for Application No. 14192660.0 dated Apr.
14, 2015. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Millner; Monica E
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jenkins, Wilson, Taylor & Hunt,
P.A.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method of manufacturing a seat rail for supporting seats in an
aircraft, the method comprising: pre-forming a profile arrangement
of fiber material and a polymer to obtain a support portion
comprising a central main portion and flanges which extend
outwardly from and perpendicular with respect to the central main
portion to form a support surface for the seat rail, wherein the
central main portion comprises a slot at least open at its end
remote from the flanges; providing the seat rail comprising the
support portion for connection with a cabin floor and a seat
receiving portion comprising a groove for receiving end portions of
connector elements coupled with a seat support frame; inserting at
least one metal element, which comprises the groove for receiving
the end portions of connector elements, into the slot prior to
curing of the profile arrangement; and pressing material of the
central main portion into engagement with the at least one metal
element during curing of the profile arrangement.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metal
element comprises lateral flanges for engagement with the profile
arrangement adjacent to the slot and a leg projecting perpendicular
with respect to the lateral flanges which leg is inserted into the
slot of the profile arrangement.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein to obtain a fixed
connection of the at least one metal element with the profile
arrangement, ribs or recesses are provided in an area of the at
least one metal element which engages with the central main
portion.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the profile arrangement
is formed of two profile rails with a space between them forming
the slot.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the profile rails are
each U-shaped in cross-section, wherein the profile rails are
formed such that the slot is arranged between their bases.
6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the profile rails are
L-shaped in cross-section.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein during pre-forming of
the profile arrangement the at least one metal element is
inserted.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of metal
elements is inserted into the slot to form a continuous track.
9. The method according to claim 1, comprising a post-curing step
of cutting the seat rail to length.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to European Patent Application No.
14192660.0 filed Nov. 11, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is
incorporated by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosure herein relates to a seat rail for supporting seats
in an aircraft which seat rail comprises a support portion for
connection with the cabin floor and a seat receiving portion having
a groove for receiving the end portions of connector elements
coupled with the support frame of a seat.
BACKGROUND
Such seat rails are generally formed in one piece of metal, e.g. an
aluminum alloy or a titanium alloy, to obtain sufficient structural
strength and stability. Such strength and stability is mostly
required in the seat receiving portion, since here the forces
acting in the area of the groove receiving the end portions of the
connector elements, e.g. the heads of screw bolts, are particularly
high, since they act on relatively small areas of material.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the disclosure herein to provide for a seat rail
comprising the required structural strength in the area of the seat
receiving portion, but has a reduced overall weight compared to the
known seat rails and permits reduction of manufacturing costs.
To solve such an object a seat rail is provided, wherein the
support portion comprises a profile arrangement of a
fiber-reinforced polymer, preferably a carbon fiber-reinforced
polymer (CFRP), having a central main portion and flanges which
extend outwardly from and perpendicularly with respect to the main
portion to form a support surface for the seat rail, wherein the
main portion comprises a slot open at least at its end remote from
the flanges, and wherein at least one metal element comprising the
groove for receiving the end portions of the connector elements has
a leg inserted into the slot of the main portion and secured
therein.
Thus, the seat rail according to the disclosure herein comprises
two elements, a support portion to be connected with the cabin
floor which support portion is manufactured of a fiber-reinforced
polymer, preferably carbon fiber-reinforced material, or CFRP, and
a portion which is coupled with the seat and consists of or
comprises metal. The portion coupled with the seat provides for the
structural strength and stability required to anchor the support
frame of the seat, whereas the support portion of the rail provides
an overall reduced weight of the seat rail compared to a metal seat
rail and has sufficient strength for connecting the seat rail to
the cabin floor. In addition, such a multi-component seat rail can
be manufactured at lower costs than a seat rail consisting entirely
of metal.
Preferably, the at least one metal element comprises lateral
flanges supported by the profile arrangement remote from the
support surface forming flanges so that the forces transmitted from
the metal element to the profile arrangement are sufficiently
distributed to avoid overloading of the main portion of the profile
arrangement.
To permit essentially free positioning of a seat on the seat rails
connected with the cabin floor a plurality of metal elements may be
secured in the profile arrangement to form a continuous track, as
this is the case with conventional metal seat rails.
Whereas the support portion of a seat rail according to the
disclosure herein may consist of or comprise one part with the slot
closed at its end opposite to its opening at its end remote from
the flanges, it is preferred to provide for a profile arrangement
which comprises two profile rails which are either U-shaped in
cross-section with a space between their bases forming the slot, or
L-shaped in cross-section with a space between them forming the
slot. Such profile rails are easier to manufacture than a one-piece
support portion and provide sufficient strength and stability.
To provide for a connection of metal element and profile
arrangement the areas of the leg of the metal element which engage
with the profile arrangement may comprise ribs or recesses into
which material of the profile arrangement is pressed.
For manufacturing a seat rail according to the disclosure herein a
manufacturing process may be used as essentially used for
manufacturing fiber-reinforced plastic profile elements, preferably
CFRP profile elements, i.e. a profile arrangement forming the
support portion of a seat rail is manufactured in a continuous
process by forming an arrangement of dry fiber material to the
desired profile's cross-section, wherein a main central portion and
flanges which extend outwardly from and perpendicular with respect
to the main portion to form a support surface for the seat rail are
provided, and wherein the main portion comprises a slot at least
open at its end remote from the flanges. Prior to effecting curing
of the plastic material used to impregnate the fiber material at
least one metal element comprising the groove for receiving the end
portions of the connector elements coupled with the support frame
of the seat is inserted into the slot of the support portion.
During curing of the support portion the material of its main
portion is pressed into engagement with the metal element. It
should be noted that the plastic material used may be a
thermosetting material like an epoxy resin or a thermoplastic
material like polyetheretherketone (PEEK).
To obtain a fixed connection of the metal element with the profile
arrangement engagement structure, preferably ribs or recesses may
be provided in the area of the metal element which is inserted into
the slot of the profile arrangement or in both the metal element
and the profile arrangement.
The support portion may be formed of two profile rails with a space
between them forming the slot, e.g. two profile rails having
U-shaped cross-section and forming the slot between their bases or
two profile rails which are L-shaped in cross-section.
To obtain a continuous track for receiving the end portions of the
connector elements coupled with the support frames of the seats a
plurality of metal elements may be inserted into the slot.
The seat rail manufactured in a continuous process may be cut to
length in a post-curing step.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following the disclosure herein will be described in more
detail with respect to the schematic drawings showing several
embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a production line for continuously
manufacturing profile elements of a fiber-reinforced polymer.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a step of
manufacturing a seat rail.
FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the seat rail according to FIG.
2.
FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of a modified seat rail.
FIG. 5 shows in a view similar to FIG. 2 another embodiment of a
seat rail.
FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of the seat rail of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 shows a cross-section of a seat rail similar to the one of
FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The process line shown in FIG. 1 is an essentially conventional one
for continuously manufacturing profile elements of a
fiber-reinforced polymer, in particular CFRP profile elements. In
step 1 webs or the like of dry fiber material are drawn from reels
and fed to a pre-forming station 2 in which a pre-forming to the
profile shape occurs. The pre-formed material is then fed to an
impregnation station 3 in which the fiber material is impregnated
with a plastic material which may then be cured up to a gel phase.
Thereafter, the material is fed into a curing station 4 which also
incorporates a press which reciprocates in feeding direction, as
indicated by the horizontal arrows to permit continuous production.
In this station, the profile rail is cured until it is rigid, which
curing step may be accelerated by having the die elements of the
press heated. Thereafter, the profile element moves through a
post-curing station 5, e.g. a convection oven. Continuous movement
of the profile element is ensured by the clamping station 6 which
comprises two reciprocating clamps which are moved as indicated by
arrows and engage alternatingly with the profile element. In the
last station 7 the profile element is cut to length.
Such a process line is modified for the manufacturing of seat
rails, as indicated in FIG. 2. The profile elements 10a, 10b
U-shaped in cross-section which are produced simultaneously in the
production line of FIG. 1, are arranged with their bases 11a, 11b
facing each other and spaced from each other by a slot 14. When the
profile elements are moved in feeding direction (arrow A), metal
elements 20 are inserted into slot 14 from above either in the
impregnation station 3 of the production line after impregnation or
behind station 3 but prior to entering the curing station 4. These
metal elements comprise a groove 21 for receiving the end portions
of connector elements coupled with the support frame of a seat and
a central leg 22 from which lateral flanges 23a, 23b extend
perpendicular thereto. In the main or lateral surfaces of the leg
22 ribs or recesses are provided, as indicated at 24. To obtain a
fixed connection between the profile elements 10a, 10b and the legs
22 of the metal elements 20 press elements 17a and 17b press the
bases 11a, 11b of the profile elements in engagement with the leg
22 and thereby cause tight engagement with the ribs or recesses
indicated at 24. Thus, upon curing, a fixed connection between the
metal elements 20 and the profile elements 10a, 10b is obtained. As
also indicated, during such pressing step additional press elements
(only element 18b shown) press the flanges 12a, 12b of the profile
elements 10a, 10b against the press elements 17a, 17b to obtain a
compact structure and a plane support surface for the completed
seat rail. During such engagement of the press elements 17a, 17b,
18b the unit comprising the press elements is moved in feeding
direction of the profile elements and returns to its starting
position upon release of the press elements.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of metal elements 20 are connected
to the support portion formed by the profile elements 10a, 10b so
that the slots 21 of the metal elements 20 form a continuous track
for receiving the end portions of connector elements coupled with
the support frames of seats.
In FIG. 2 additional press elements 15a, 15b and 16a, 16b are shown
which act on the upper flanges 13a, 13b of the profile elements
10a, 10b before the metal elements are inserted to thereby effect a
pre-compaction of the flanges preferably between stations 2 and 3
or between station 3 and press elements 17a, 17b, 18b. Also these
press elements are moved in feeding direction when in engagement
with the flanges and return to their starting positions upon
release.
As indicated in FIG. 3, the leg 22 of the metal element 20 may
extend to the support surface formed by flanges 12a, 12b so that it
engages with the cabin floor when the flanges 12a, 12b are
connected thereto.
In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 elements corresponding to
those in FIG. 3 are designated with the same reference numerals and
'. In this embodiment the leg 22' is shorter than in the embodiment
of FIG. 3, and the bases 11a', 11b' of the profile elements 10a',
10b' are connected in the area of the flanges 12a', 12b' and
somewhat above those flanges. In a modification the leg 22' may
comprise a wedge shaped free end or may have an overall wedge shape
with the wall portions of the bases of the profiles engaging with
the leg being correspondingly inclined. It should be noted that
rather than manufacturing such a structure of two separate profile
elements 10a', 10b' the fiber-reinforced profile arrangement may
consist of one piece.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment similar to the one of FIGS. 2 and
3, and identical or corresponding elements and parts are designated
with the same reference numerals but increased by 100.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 the profile elements 110a, 110b
of fiber-reinforced material are L-shaped in cross-section rather
than U-shaped, as in FIGS. 2 and 3. The metal elements 120 and the
way of inserting and fixing the metal elements are the same as in
the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3.
The modification of FIG. 7 is a modification corresponding to the
one of FIG. 4, but with profile elements which are L-shaped in
cross-section according to FIGS. 5 and 6. The reference numerals
used correspond to those of FIGS. 5 and 6 with ' added, whereas the
explanations as to FIG. 4 apply.
While at least one exemplary embodiment of the invention(s) herein
is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications,
substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary
skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope
of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any
adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In
addition, in this disclosure, the terms "comprise" or "comprising"
do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms "a" or "one" do
not exclude a plural number, and the term "or" means either or
both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been
described may also be used in combination with other
characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or
context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by
reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from
which it claims benefit or priority.
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